It’s six months since Ford partnered with Bug Labs to build OpenXC and now the system is ready for third-party developers to get involved. Rather than following Renault and others down the Android route, OpenXC is a dedicated platform designed to bring together third-party apps and hardware. It comes with an Arduino-based interface module that hooks up to the car’s own systems, allowing the software to work with sensors, audio interfaces, safety devices and whatever other add-ons an owner might want to rig up. One app, developed by India’s HCL Technologies, is already complete: it sends location updates to selected contacts to warn them if a driver is running late for a meeting. (Finally, Arduino gets to do something useful.)

We’re sure some Linux fans broke into a cold sweat over the open source Spark tab. Fortunately it’s taken the next step towards their eager paws: the seven inch slab is now up for pre-order. Sign up for one and you’ll net a priority order code to ensure you get one of the first units off the production line, alongside 500 points to use at the manufacturer’s add-on store. The site still expects to launch the Spark for around €200 ($262), which is a fair chunk of change less than those top-drawer tablets — and what price can you put on freedom?

According to CNET, a class-action lawsuit over the iPhone 4’s troublesome antenna, aka Antennagate, has been settled. The planned resolution will net US residents who bought one and presumably either $15 in cash or (another?) free bumper case. CNET quotes co-lead counsel Ira Rothken (who, by the way, also represents Megaupload) saying that he believes the settlement is “fair and reasonable”, affecting some 25 million people who will be notified by email and through print ads in USA Today and Macworld. Once they’ve received the heads up, they can go to www.iPhone4Settlement.com (not up and running yet) to register their claims. When the issue first came to light back in 2010 Apple suggested holding it differently before saying it would tweak its signal display formulas and, eventually, offering the free cases. Hopefully for the company and its users, this resolution puts the issue — which is not a problem on the new 4S — to bed.

Update: We spoke to an Apple representative who confirmed that the settlement is for those customers who chose not to take a free case or return their phone back in 2010. It looks like holding out didn’t get you much more than the option to take $15 cash instead, but we’ll simply consider it a much-needed opportunity to reflect on the International Year of Biodiversity that was.

According to CNET, a class-action lawsuit over the iPhone 4’s troublesome antenna, aka Antennagate, has been settled. The planned resolution will net US residents who bought one and presumably either $15 in cash or (another?) free bumper case. CNET quotes co-lead counsel Ira Rothken (who, by the way, also represents Megaupload) saying that he believes the settlement is “fair and reasonable”, affecting some 25 million people who will be notified by email and through print ads in USA Today and Macworld. Once they’ve received the heads up, they can go to www.iPhone4Settlement.com (not up and running yet) to register their claims. When the issue first came to light back in 2010 Apple suggested holding it differently before saying it would tweak its signal display formulas and, eventually, offering the free cases. Hopefully for the company and its users, this resolution puts the issue — which is not a problem on the new 4S — to bed. We haven’t received any response from Apple regarding the case just yet but we’ll let you know if we do.

Last time around, Apple was cognizant not everyone has broadband to download a 4GB OS, offering solace to those with slow internet with a (pricey $69) USB stick alternative. Times change though, as Cupertino’s confirmed to Pocket-lint that the recently unveiled OS X Mountain Lion won’t be offered with a physical counterpart. Apple’s reasoning? “It was an interesting test, but it turns out the App Store was just fine for getting the new OS.” So there’s that. High time you took the plunge and upgraded to broadband apparently, or contemplated moving within the vicinity of an Apple Retail Store’s willing WiFi. That or you could just buy a new machine. Your call.

Clearly the LG Fantasy (make that the Miracle) isn’t camera shy. Not long after a quick debut with Mr. Blurrycam, the Windows Phone handset has landed a short, poorly lit cameo in someone else’s amateur film. Which is to say, the video doesn’t reveal anything exciting. Aside from a few swipes and taps around the OS, we also get a quick peek at the device’s rear, which is rocking an unmistakable “Not For Sale” sticker, and appears to have a matte finish. That purported 4-inch screen is allegedly of IPS quality, and is said to be paired with a 1GHz CPU, 8GB of internal storage and an NFC chip. The only thing certain about all these early appearances is that LG’s fantasies are about to become a reality (sorry, guys).

Leaves weren’t the only things flying around Mountain View last Autumn if you remember, Google also unleashed its Dart programming language. Now, developers can get their hands on a tech preview version of Chromium, with the Dart virtual machine baked right in. There are Mac and Linux binaries available today, but no details about other platforms (ahem Windows) at this time. The preview lets you run your programs directly on the Dart VM, skipping the separate compilation stage. While it’s just for developers at the minute, there are plans to include this in standard Chrome releases in the future. Aim at the source link after the break for the full details.

We here at Engadget tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol’ Federal Communications Commission’s site. Since we couldn’t possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there individually, we’ve gathered up an exhaustive listing of every phone and / or tablet getting the stamp of approval over the last week. Enjoy!

Call us loco, but after this, the 281st edition of the Engadget Podcast, we’re excited about a future where desktop operating systems, mobile gaming and telecommunications platforms, and hoverboard interfaces converge into one new distinct product category. We’re not sure exactly where in the Walmart it will sit, but we’re sure they’ll figure something out. They always do.

While we impatiently await a Lytro to call our own — or at least rigorously review — it looks like the light field technology could be used for video. Ren Ng, CEO of Lytro and the man behind the camera’s focus-dodging optical wizardry, mentioned that the main barrier between the curious camera lens and video recording is the amount of processing power required to manipulate all that fully-lit input. He also mentioned that Lytro is continuing to develop the wireless connectivity within the device, something that wasn’t fully baked during our hands-on. If it’s a processing power issue, those incoming quad-core smartphones might be able to help squeeze some video out of that f/2.0 lens…